Johnny Depp’s Tonto is “another great invention”–Jerry Bruckheimer talks about THE LONE RANGER

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer gave a recent interview to IGN in which he talks about the status of The Lone Ranger. This project was announced in fall 2008, along with the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film; with On Stranger Tides‘s start date less than two months away, curiosity is building about when The Lone Ranger‘s cast might be ready to saddle up and film. “It’s moving forward. We’re re-writing it right now,” Mr. Bruckheimer told IGN. “Johnny’s still very much involved. He created a fantastic character–actually, we have photographs of the character . . . which we can’t show you.” The producer couldn’t help grinning at that. “But it’s great. Brilliant. It’s another great invention like he invented Captain Jack and the Mad Hatter, so, you know, he’s created this Tonto character which is wonderful.”

And when might film roll on Tonto and the not-exactly-lone Ranger? “[W]e’re working on trying to get the screenplay finished,” Mr. Bruckheimer said, “and hopefully it will fit into his [Johnny’s] schedule. He has got a lot of movies lined up,” the producer admitted, but quickly added, ” and he really loves the project and he wants to do the character, so that’s exciting for us.”

What will Johnny Depp’s version of Tonto be like? “The character is going to be smart, he’s going to be mystical, he’s going to be funny, and he’s going to have all the trappings and the kind of things that Johnny brings to the screen, which is uniqueness,” Mr. Bruckheimer promised. Sounds great!

The Zone thanks Emma for sharing the IGN interview; you can find it (and much more about The Lone Ranger) on the Zone’s News & Views forum.